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Mosaic "Tree of Life" Minsk region, Soligorsk

Soligorsk

Architecture, Industrial buildings

Soligorsk is a wonderful town in Minsk region. It is located on the banks of the river Sluch.

Undoubtedly, every resident of this town knows the house at the back of which a lovely pattern amazes the passersby. The house is situated at the entrance to the town. But not everyone knows what this composition means.

A mysterious heritage of Soligorsk – the tremendous mosaic on the cultic theme – has a marvelous name “Tree of Life”. The mosaic covers the wall of the block of flats on Zaslonova Street, 65. The author of the mosaic is a famous Belarusian painter Vladimir Krivoblotsky, who works directly with the techniques of mosaics and murals.

The future painter Vladimir Krivoblotsky was born in the village of Hvalovo, a few kilometers from Białowieża Forest. Since the very childhood he went to the church together with his grandmother, fasted and observed religious rites. “It’s impossible for the creative person to live without faith”, – says the painter, – “If the Most High gave the talent, you should work it off fully and without any vice”. Currently he has more than 400 works in his studio. Each painting is suffused with the artist's thirst for the absolute globality. Generally the paintings are grandiose. Some of them were painted in the technique of the ancient sacred images. The paints for them were made on the basis of eggs and other natural ingredients.

However “Tree of Life” mosaic stands out of all the works of the author. There is no specific interpretation of the subject of the mosaic. Most arts critics deliberately understand this mosaic as a part of the mysterious spiritual world of the painter. Nevertheless, the residents of Soligorsk with genuine pleasure compose a lot of legends about the mysterious encrypted message and powerful otherworldly energy of the house number 65. The mosaic was composed by the painter of the small (one square centimeter) multi-colored opaque glass cubes. Such glass is ideal for mosaic works and represents a centuries-old material because it doesn’t lose its shades in any weather.

It should be noted that the mosaic “Tree of Life” is undoubtedly allegorical. But what is hidden behind this allegory? Are they the bison with majestic wings as the basis of civilization? After all, the whole composition is held on their crossed hooves. Or is it the tree as a symbol of the continuation of the human race? Or is it the author who looks deeper intending to tell us about the several stages of existence? Or is it all about the soul rebirth? It is absolutely evident that the faces on the mosaic are strikingly alike. There is of cause some kind of a special deeper meaning. Studying the heritage of the amazing Soligorsk you should find some time to appreciate the mosaic “Tree of Life” and get your personal opinion about the painter's creation.